PULLMAN, Wash. - Washington State concluded its first week of spring drills
with
a 90 minute scrimmage Saturday morning.

Coach Mike Price, and the rest of the coaching staff, was pleased with the way
the scrimmage was played.

"I was really pleased with the defense and the excitement they showed," Price
said. "The defense is getting back to where they used to be when they excited
people. They are so aggressive."

The No. 1 defense yielded only 17 yards on five drives, including two against
the No. 1 offensive unit.

The first-string offense also looked improved as it scored touchdowns on three
of its six drives.

"I was pleased with (Deon) Burnett's rushing," Price said. "I was pleased with
the running game. I thought Thielbahr ran well too."

Burnett was the leading rusher on the day with 12 carries for 81 yards and two
touchdowns. Thielbahr amassed 27 yards on five carries including a 17-yard
burst.

Jason Gesser had the most productive day of all the quarterbacks, completing 8
of 13 attempts for 74 yards, with his longest pass completion coming on a
21-yard touchdown pass to Colin Henderson. In 34 total attempts, none of the
four quarterbacks threw an interception.

In one of the more fierce battles on the team, three kickers are battling for
the chance to fill Rian Lindell's shoes.

Senior Anousith Wilaikul and redshirt freshman Drew Dunning each connected on
five of six field-goal attempts. Wilaikul made attempts from 51, 44 and 41
yards, where as Dunning's longest were three makes from 38 yards.

"It's a dead even heat," Price said.

Freshman DD Acholonu led all defensive players with three sacks and a fumble
recovery to conclude his first week as a WSU football player. Nine other
players also registered sacks on the day.

Injury report: Milton Wynn (hip injury), Adam Davis (strained quadriceps),
Farwan Zubedi (sprained foot), Lamont Thompson (stiff neck) and Wendell Smith
(shoulder dislocation) did not participate in the scrimmage. Wynn, Davis,
Zubedi, Thompson will all return to participate in spring drills, while Smith
suffered a dislocated right shoulder during Friday's practice and will not
return to the field this spring. He will be re-evaluated on Wednesday to
determine whether he needs surgery.

Schedule change: The practice schedule for the week of March 26-April 1 has
been
changed. Practices will be held Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, because
many players have tests in the middle of the week.